Tominaga Sei
Tominaga Sei (富永セイ）is the female protagonist in Kaze Hikaru, a historical shoujo manga by Watanabe Taeko. She first appears in the series posing as a boy named Kamiya Seizaburou to join the Mibu-Roshi (later the Shinsengumi) to avenge her slain father and brother, Tominaga Genan and Tominaga Yuuma, at the hands of radical Choshu samurai. Early Life Sei was born in Yotsuya, a part of Edo (now a neighborhood in Tokyo) Volume 15, pg. 93. The tomboyish, youngest child of Tominaga Genan, a former ''gokenin '' (a samurai working with the shogun) who became a Ranpo doctor, and Kamiya Rin, the daughter of a bushi, Sei had a habit of staring at things that grabbed her interest, as was the case when she first met Matsumoto Ryojun when she was 8.Volume 15 She shares this habit with her father. Due to her father's occupation as a doctor (forcing him to be away from his family for long periods of time), and his promise to his wife to become the best in the field, Sei spent the majority of her childhood without her father's guidance, not knowing the reason why he chose to leave them behind. She grew up resenting Genan, blaming him for the death of their mother when she was four, and harbored these feelings until Matsumoto-sensei told her the truth. In reality, Sei's father wished to pursue medicine, something his own father, Sei's grandfather. was starkly against. However, when Genan's father became ill, it was apparent that he would need to find a bride in preparation for taking over the family business. The intended, Sei's mother Rin, was a kind young woman of only 16. Genan has no intention of being a family man, however, and pretended to be gravely ill. Rin was not fooled by his act and said he should not fake an ailment just so he can become a doctor. She supported his wish and asked him to be the best doctor in the world. They were happily married and a year later welcomed thier son, Tominaga Yuuma, into the world. The large number of patients at the clinic prevented Genan from returning home for years at a time, though Rin and Yuuma did visit him once at the clinic. They made plans for Rin and Yuuma to move into a new house, while giving up the old one to their adopted son, Kaichiro, and his parents. Not long after Rin returned home, she realized she was pregnant with Sei. Though Genan promised to return home within a year, it would be four years before he would be able to return, shortly after the death of his wife. Sei shared a very strong bond with her brother Yuuma, and for many years would be very cold towards her father after he finally returned. In 1853 Japan finds itself being bombarded with foreign ships trying to open trade, leading to a series of disadvantageous treaties and thoughts of rebellion among its citizens. During this time, Sei is 15 years old and working with her brother and father in a clinic the latter owns. Yuuma tells his baby sister that he intends to join the Mibu-Roshi, and Sei jumps up saying she'll join too. At the same time, a group of Choushuu rebels push thier way into the clinic and demand treatment. Genan asks that they simply wait thier turn, but is killed for being an "ally" to the foreigners for practicing Western medicine. Yuuma is also killed. Soji hears the commotion from outside the clinic, and manages to kill a few of the rebels. By accident, the clinic is set on fire, and Soji begs that Sei leave, though she refuses to leave the body of her brother. She is eventually pulled out by some patients, but suffers severe burns on her chest and falls into a deep depression. Sei loses the will to live, and refuses to eat. It's not until she meets a Buudhist nun that she decides to take revenge on her slain father and brother. As Kamiya Seizaburou In her desire to get her revenge on the ones who killed her family, Sei shaved the top of her head (which was unthinkable for a woman, unless she wanted to become a nun) into a half-sakayaki and took on the name Kamiya Seizaburou. She enlisted in the Mibu-Roushi (later Shinsengumi), a group of warriors from different classes who were strongly loyal to the Bakufu. She fought, and lost, against Todo Heisuke in the newcomers' assessment. Despite this, her determination and perseverance (plus "his" feminine appearance) deemed her worthy to join the group, and she was consequently placed under the supervision of the then-assistant vice captain, later captain of the First Troop Okita Souji. What Soji doesn't realzie is that he was there the day Sei's father and brother were killed, though when she believes that Souji is just another drunken womanizer, combined with the horrible living conditions, she decides to leave. Late that night, as Sei plans her escape, she accidently bumps into another man, who seems to be trying to leave as well. Before the two can get anywhere, Soji appears and we realize that all the drunken partying was a ruse to lure out a spy named Araki Sajuuro. Soji quickly kills the spy, and tells Sei that if she returns to headquarters he'll pretend he didn't see her. Sei pulls out her sword and tells Soji that she doesn't need his pity. Unfortunately for Sei, she's not match for Soji's skill with a sword, and he manages to slice through her clothes ..... just enough to reveal that "he" is actually a "she". References